No Star Shone As Bright
by lisiqe
Summary: Sans and Papyrus move to a new neighbourhood, five years after monsters have been free. The hill nearby has a great view of the night sky, and there Sans finds company.
1. Chapter 1

Near their new house there was a hill that, at least as far as Sans knew, would have the most amazing view of the night sky. He and Papyrus had moved in about a week ago, but with the hassle of moving everything and the bustle of having friends coming to visit, he hadn't had time to check it out yet. The house they had moved into had actually been empty for the past four years, so they also had a lot of cleaning to do.

This was the first free night he'd had, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. He had his telescope, a snack that Paps had made for him, some sandwiches, cookies, fruit, and a couple of drinks. He was ecstatic; Despite the fact that monsters had been on the surface for five years, the stars still fascinated him the same as they had night one. There was just something, well, stellar about the stars and the whole universe above them. It was something Sans could never get bored of, so Paps knew he had planned to be out there all night.

"I'm heading out, Paps, I'll see you in the morning," he called out from the front door, and Paps popped his head out from his bedroom, where he was folding clothes.

"Alright, be safe, Sans."

"I'll be safe, Paps. Have a good night, okay?"

Papyrus nodded and Sans smiled as he watched his brother duck his head back into his room. With one last look at the clock, he headed out the door. While locking the door, he gave a smile of relief atof having some freedom to just stargaze. He had his telescope in hand and a whole free night to do what he wanted. Sans spotted the hill, and with a quick shortcut, he popped right on top, startling the person that was already there.

He hadn't expected to see anyone there, especially at almost 11 at night but there they were. Flat on their back, their left hand tapping lightly to a beat to a song he couldn't hear. She was staring up at the sky, eyes darting around the night sky. It was on the opposite side of where his street was, so they had just been out of view of their house. They jumped up, startled, and stumbled, causing them to tumble down the hill a few feet.

"I'm so sorry, didn't mean to make you jump out of your skin like that. Let me help you." He started to put down his telescope to help, but she was already on her feet and brushing herself off. She held the jacket she was wearing tighter around her as she looked up at him.

"I'm fine. Thank you, I'm just not used to others being here, so I was surprised when you appeared so suddenly." She smiled, and for the first time, he got a good look at her. She was wearing a galaxy-themed dress, with warm-looking leggings, so he didn't think she was cold. She was also wearing a dark jacket but it was just too dark to really see any more of her.

"My shortcuts tend to surprise the unexpecting. Name's Sans, Sans the skeleton." She chuckled and gave him a cheeky smile.

"If you were sans a skeleton there wouldn't be much left of you."

He chuckled at the joke and she made her way up the hill towards him. "Name's Nova, nice to meet you, Sans. Are you here to view the stars, too? This has always been the best spot in town to see them." She seemed so excited—not many humans were as interested in the stars as him, and it was refreshing to see such excitement.

"Got it in one, Star." He said as he started setting up. "My brother and I moved onto the street nearby. Meant to come up here earlier, but we just got busy with unpacking and friends visiting." Nova tilted her head, a bit confused.

"Do you normally give people you just met nicknames?"

He shrugged and finished setting up the telescope.

"Only the interesting ones."

The odd compliment made Nova blush and look away from him and the hill, off towards his new neighborhood. Seeing her embarrassed made him smile and it made him want to tease her more. He sat down on the hill next to her and looked up: it was the perfect night for star viewing. Not a cloud in sight. He peeked back over at her and caught her eye, he stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the favor. When she saw he was teasing her, she gave him a small pout before throwing herself backwards to lay back on the ground. Arms crossed over her chest, which just caused Sans to start laughing, and the realization of her acting like a toddler and Sans's laugh had gotten her to start laughing as well. So, there they sat, being complete goofballs, laughing at themselves/each other and watching the stars.

They stayed together all night, watching the stars, pointing out the different things they saw. Sans wasn't sure he'd ever felt so comfortable around another person before. He had offered her some of his food but she'd turned it down. Though she had found the fact that he could eat interesting. She had always been interested in monsters, though she hadn't met many.

The sun peeked out over the horizon and Sans sighed. "I gotta get going home, Star, don't want to worry my bro any longer." He didn't want this to end, but he couldn't keep her much longer. After all, they had just spent the whole night together.

"When will I see you again?" he asked as she got up.

"I'm here every night. It was nice meeting you, Sans. I hope to see you again."

Sans nodded and shortcut his way back home. He was definitely going to see her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Every night after the initial meeting, Sans would head up to that hill to meet up with Nova. On the third night, he finally saw her neck; she normally kept her jacket wrapped around her tight, but tonight it seemed she trusted him more, and it hung off her, loose. There also weren't many lights out here—easier to see the stars, but not each other, so he hadn't really paid much attention before. It was like two handprints wrapped around her neck. He could even see the marks of fingernails where they must have dug in. When he asked her what happened, she looked distraught and pulled the jacket back around her. He didn't force it, but after an hour she spoke up.

"My ex, he wasn't the best boyfriend when we were together. He wanted to control every aspect of my life, so he didn't quite take it well when I broke up with him." She ran her hand over the marks and Sans tried to pat her shoulder comfortingly. Tried to, but failed, as she flinched away before he could make contact.

"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time. Sans chuckled.

"Come on, Star, you got nothing to apologize over. Really, I shouldn't be surprised you would be uncomfortable with others touching you after what happened." She nodded and looked back up at the stars. He looked over at her. It seemed she had gone thru quite a lot at this point. He felt pretty bad at bringing it up but it seemed she was able to move on from it all. He laid down on the ground next to her and leaned on one arm looked over at her. "What happened to him? Did the police get him?"

Nova had a melancholy smile as she nodded. "Yeah, last I heard he's still in jail." It fell quiet for a little while, before Sans looked over at her. He felt bad for making her remember what happened, and it hurt his soul to see her sad.

"What's a light-year?"

She looked over at him, a bit confused at why he was asking her that.

"Eh, don't worry about it, Star. It's like a regular year, but less calories."

It took a second for her to process the joke, but she broke out in laughter when she did. Not his best joke, but it was nice to see her smile.

It became part of his routine: every night he would go and visit her on that hill. Telling jokes, trading facts they learned about the universe and the stars. It was really the only time he saw her; he didn't even know where she lived.

Sans didn't know exactly when it happened, the constant meeting he had with Nova. The fact she could keep up with his puns and giving him her own jokes and puns back. They shared random space facts they knew, lamented over the fact Pluto wasn't a planet and the Curiosity Rover being out on it own. How her face scrunched up when he talked about ketchup or how it lit up when he talked about Pap and his most recent cooking concoction. He fell for Nova hard during those visits, even if she tended to be distant, they only ever met on this hill after all. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, she felt the same about him. The problem was, he could never bring himself to voice his feelings. Too scared he'd ruin what they had but now, on the one-month anniversary of when they met, he was determined to tell Nova his feelings.

So once again, he shortcutted himself back up on the hill to find her resting in her normal spot. "Hey, Star." She looked up at him and smiled. She was wearing her normal outfit. He had asked her once about why she was always wearing the same outfit, and she called it her star-viewing costume. The dress was the night sky, and while it was strange to him that he only saw her in this outfit, especially since he saw her almost every night, he couldn't say much as his own wardrobe consisted of just one outfit as well. It looked amazing on her anyways.

"Hey Sans, how was your day?" Nova asked as she sat up. She always loved listening to him talk about everything going on with him and Paps, as well as their friends and neighbors.

"Pretty good, Paps is doing great at his job. The neighborhood is pretty nice as well. Plus, now I get to spend time with my favorite star." She blushed when he said that, and he decided now was the perfect time.

"Actually, Star, there's something I needed to tell you."

Nova looked up at him, a little nervous, but intrigued.

"The thing is..." He paused and sat down in front of her. "I kinda fell for you—well, not kinda. Let's just say it simply. Nova, I love you."

He waited for her to say something, but she just stared at him in shock. Sans didn't know whose face was brighter, as she had turned bright red and he, bright blue. He reached over and tried to hold her hand, to reassure her, but she pulled away before he could touch her.

"I'm… Sans… I-" She paused and it looked like she was going to cry as she turned away. "I don't think it would work, Sans."

Nova looked back at him.

"I'm sorry."

It felt like his whole world shattered at those words, and/so before she could say anything else, he shortcut himself back home. He needed to be alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Sans didn't want to leave his room, he didn't want to deal with the day. His heart and soul still hurt from the rejection. He didn't quite understand why she thought it wouldn't work between them, why she seemed so sad as well. With a sigh, he sat up in bed. He still wanted to be friends with her. For now, he had to get through the day, and then he would go talk to her. After all, he did just shortcut himself away. The realization that he'd just left her there hurt as well; he needed to apologize at the very least.

He tried to cheer himself up by getting Paps annoyed enough that he stomped away. It worked a little bit, but he needed to get out of the neighborhood for the day. He headed outside and breathed in the fresh air. It was a nice day outside, at least, and as he took a look over at the hill, wondering if she would be there, he heard a voice call his name.

"Hello, Sans!" It was his elderly neighbor, Abigail. He waved and walked over to her.

"Hey Abigail, how are you today?" He was glad that he and Paps had found this neighborhood. Everyone in it had been really nice after the initial shock of them moving in had passed.

"Oh, it's going alright. Harold has a doctor's appointment today. I noticed you looking at the hill over there. Do you like stars?"

He chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, been fascinated by them since we first came up above ground. It looked like a good place to view them." Abigail hummed in agreement.

"Ah yes, that's what she would say. That it was a good place to view the stars, I mean." That drew his attention—Abigail didn't have any daughters as far as he knew, so who was this "she"?

"Hm? Who are you talking about, Abby?" She paused, trying to remember something.

"I don't recall her name, she was the one who lived in your house prior to you moving in. I believe she moved out here to escape her ex or something. Oh, what was her name. Harold?" She called out suddenly to her husband. This was the first time Sans had ever heard about a previous owner. The place had been sold to them by an agency, so they never knew anything about the previous owner.

"What is it, Abigail?" Harold called out as he slowly came out of the house.

"Do you remember what the name of that young lady who used to live next door was?" Harold took his time as he came out, locking the door, and walking over to them.

"What was that?"

"That young lady who used to live where Sans and Papyrus live now."

"What about her? Poor thing."

_Poor thing?_ Sans thought curiously. So something happened to her, it seemed.

"Do you remember her name?" It was now Harold's turn to think about it—nothing really happened fast with these two. It was something Sans had gotten used to.

"I think it was something galaxy-related. Shame what happened to her."

_Galaxy-related, huh?_ His first thoughts were of Nova, and finally Sans spoke up.

"May I ask what happened?"

They both got a far off look as they thought about what had happened. It almost made Sans want to take back the question, but Abigail spoke up first.

"I'm surprised you weren't told before you moved in."

Harold shook his head as he sat down on his walker.

"They only have to disclose that type of info if the house was involved."

Sans felt his stomach curl at what Harold was referring to.

"Silly rule. Either way, I still remember that night. I was still up playing my online bingo when I heard a noise in our front yard. At first I thought it had just been the neighbor, as she was one to go stargazing a lot, but then I remembered she had already left so it couldn't have been her. I had Harold look outside and he saw a man snooping around her house, so we called the cops." She let out a sigh, tinted with an air of defeat and shook her head. "By the time the cops came, it was already too late."

Harold shifted around to get more comfortable, but Sans could see his hands shake with anger now instead of tiredness. He face scrunched up with a pissed off look as he seem to think back. "Damn shame, if the cops had done their job and arrived faster, maybe something could have been done. They took it as just a weirdo snooping around, but it turned out it was her ex who hunted her down."

The sinking feeling in his gut worsened as he listened. "What happened to her?"

"Poor dear was strangled to death right on that very hill."

He remembered the marks on Nova's neck, remembered that she said it was her ex. There was also the realisation that he had never actually touched her at any point. Was she a ghost? Did her soul stay on that hill? But why?

There was a sudden look of realization that swept over Harolds face. "Oh! I remember her name, it was Nova. Like a supernova."

And it all came full circle.

Abigail nodded softly in agreement, a little pleased the mystery was solved."Yes, that's what it was. Poor dear, she was such a sweetheart. Her mother couldn't even step in the house after that, our son came by and helped her move things out. Surprised she held on so long before putting it up for sale." Abigail looked at her watch then and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sans, Harold's appointment is soon so we must be heading off now. Have a nice day."

He waved goodbye and watched as they got in their car and drove away.

He turned and ran to the hill.

He just had to see her.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! This is my first note on , I wanted to try for a bit and I'm glad you guys seem to be liking my stories so far.

That being said, this is the last chapter of No Star Shone as Bright, I hope you enjoy.

.-.

Sans sat on that hill the whole day. He had texted Paps where he was, since he didn't want him to worry, but he wasn't planning on moving, not 'til he talked to her. Nova, that was the person who lived in their own house before them. The person who died on this hill by the hand of her ex. The person who became a good friend and his crush. She was dead, this whole time, and he never knew.

The sun started to set and as the last rays of light disappeared, she appeared. Laying in the same spot he would always find her in. Nova hadn't noticed him yet, and she sighed and sat up, looking ahead of her.

"Hey," he said, and she jumped, startled by his voice, and turned to look at him. She seemed upset, but relieved still to see him.

"I didn't think you would come back."

He had planned to come back to apologize, but now he also wanted to talk to her.

"My neighbor told me what happened to you. How you were murdered."

She looked away toward the ground but nodded. There was no point in denying it now, but seeing her not even try scared him.

"I didn't know how to tell you, I'm sorry." He raised his hand up to stop her.

"You don't have to apologize. I wanted to say sorry about last night as well. I shouldn't have just left like that. You had every right to reject me, and I hope we can still be friends." He finally said it, even if it hurt. He still loved her, even after everything he'd learned. He also couldn't change how she felt about him.

"I didn't want to reject you,"—his non-existent ears perked up and she stepped over to him—"but Sans, I'm dead." She raised her hand up to his face, but all he felt was her soul as it tried to keep some sense of form. "It would never work, how could it?"

Nova started to cry but she rubbed her eyes to stop them. He looked down at his hands. He couldn't comfort her and he hated that he couldn't do anything at all.

"I wish I had met you sooner, before I died."

Sans's head shot up and he looked at her.

Frisk.

Frisk still had the power to reset, and even though they had promised they wouldn't, maybe they wouldn't mind helping out an old pal.

"I know a way, a way to reset time. I could come find you after we re-emerge from the underground. You won't remember me, but I _will_ remember you. Would you be okay with that?"

He would have to get here sooner, pretend to not know her, but to come back to this point with her here again. It would be something that, well he wouldn't mind do everything over for again. Except this time around she wouldn't be dead, and he would be able to protect her when he arrived. She rubbed her eyes harder as the tears came faster, but she nodded.

"Come on, Star, I kinda need a verbal answer."

She giggled but smiled up at him. "Yes, I don't doubt at all that I would fall in love with you again."

The feeling in his stomach disappeared and he smiled back at her. He would have to wait 'til tomorrow, but for tonight they could just spend their last night together before the reset. He hoped Frisk would agree.

"Sans?" He looked up at her and was surprised at how close she was to him. Nova leaned closer to him and he felt her soul as she kissed him. There was no physical contact but it still caused him to blush. "I love you."

"I love you too, Star."

The next day he went out to visit Frisk. They had been surprised to see him and invited him in. The kid was about eighteen now, and with Toriel's help they had gotten their own place. Sans took a seat at the kitchen table as Frisk got together tea and some leftover pie.

"I'm surprised you came over so suddenly. Normally you call ahead before coming over." Frisk commented after they set down the offerings.

"Yeah, sorry, kid. I'm just going to get straight into it if you don't mind." Frisk made the go ahead hand movement as they sat down so he continued. "I kinda met someone, the only thing is... They're kinda dead."

Frisk raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"I met their ghost, they were killed four years ago." The realization appeared on Frisk face and he played with the mug's handle.

"You want me to reset?" Sans nodded and Frisk just shook their head. "Sans, you told me to stop. So why are you asking me now?"

"I think I can save her. We came up five years ago, she was killed four years ago—please, Frisk. I promise that I will never ask for anything again."

Frisk became thoughtful and started to eat their pie. Sans took the cue and started to eat as well. Once they were finished, Frisk gave their answer.

"Alright, Sans, I'll do this for you one time. After this, no more. You were right before, I can't keep messing with the timeline. I'm going to try to help Flowey this time as well."

It had never sat well with Frisk, leaving them there in the underground.

He smiled.

"Thank you."

And with that, he woke up back underground. For the first time since he could remember, he didn't mind seeing his old ceiling. It was going to take a lot of work and time to get back to her, but he didn't care.

He couldn't wait to rush up that hill and see her. Alive and well, and while he had to start fresh with her, he didn't care.

Because no real star shone as bright as her.


End file.
